You Bring Me Joy
by Jupiter Queen
Summary: All it took was some bubbles to fix her broken heart. (One-shot.)


_**Warning**: One minor drug reference (because of Jude and his Mary Jane)._

_**A/N**: I plan on writing a bunch of one-shots regarding different pairings I like. They'll be of varying scenarios and of no relation to one another, but I really want to write these. Here's the first of about five pairings. (I got the idea after playing around with some bubbles.)_

_**Note**: Fluff lies ahead, or at least it lies somewhere. Actually, it's all just fluff. Fluff. Fluff. Fluff._

* * *

Tears running down her cheeks, Caitlin pressed her face into her palms.

She wondered where it all went wrong. How could a third date she found to be so right lead the guy she'd been with to consider her so _wrong_? It frustrated her, but what broke her heart was when he approached her this morning and broke up with her so _easily_. Like she didn't even matter to begin with.

His attitude had been so nonchalant. He rested his arms, adorned in the leather of his motorcycle jacket, on the yellow counter of the Big Squeeze.

"I don't think this is going to work out—you and me." He ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. "If I wanted to go out with someone this naïve and whimsical, I would've dated a sophomore. What I'm trying to say is that the dates we went on were nice, but I can't be with you, Caitlin. See you around."

He didn't let her get a word in edgewise. He walked away.

Then again, she already began tearing up when he said the word _sophomore_. Because she knew what would follow. The way he said "See you around," like he was so cool (because he was; he was a senior) and could easily pretend he wasn't being rude—it killed her.

She had slid to the cold floor when he left, bringing her knees to her chest and crying until (she hoped) her tear ducts ran dry.

Wiping the wetness from her cheeks, she contemplated giving up guys (again).

They only caused her trouble.

Before she could make her decision, she heard footsteps. Hoping it wasn't that rude senior making his way back to her, she peeked over the counter. She caught sight of Jude surrounded by… bubbles?

Despite her curiosity, she quickly hid in the Lemon. She pulled a compact mirror from her purse and tried fixing her mascara-smeared, raccoon eyes. Even though she's reapplying her makeup, he would still know she'd been crying—her eyes were red and bloodshot.

She looked up and a squeal fell from her lips.

Jude had stuck his head into the Lemon, a few strands of messy blond hair dangling away from his forehead.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare ya," he said as he looked down at her. He extended a hand towards her. She gripped it, getting off the floor. She placed her compact on the counter where he now leaned.

"You look sad. What's wrong, bra?"

She grinned, playing coy. "Nothing. I'm fine."

He gazed at her, seeing through her lie.

Sighing, she stopped her feigning. Her lips drooped into a frown. "That senior I was dating broke up with me this morning." She choked up on her words. "He didn't even _care_ that he broke my heart."

"I'm sorry."

She sniffed. "It's not your fault, Jude. I just think I should give up on finding the perfect guy. They're not worth it anymore."

He held her hand. "The thing is: no guy is perfect. Some guys are nice and some guys are jerks—some guys are nice jerks—but we're _all_ really flawed and stuff. The same goes for girls. It just comes down to finding the one dude or dudette who's worth the heartache."

"Wow, Jude. That was really insightful."

"Thank you. And by the way, that guy that dumped you don't know what he lost. You're, like, a really great Betty… bra."

"Aw." She blushed. Her mind more at ease thanks to his words, she let her eyes wander until they fell upon a bottle of bubble solution. "I should've known it was you blowing those bubbles."

"Huh?" His gaze was distant until she spoke. "Oh, yeah"—he laughed, making eye contact with her again—"I bought 'em from the dollar store." His eyes brightened, an innocent plan falling into place. "That's it!"

"What's it?"

He pulled her out the Lemon, asking her to leave her hat and apron and giant lemonade stand behind. "We're having a bubble day. I'm gonna un-break your heart with bubbles."

"But you only have one bottle of them. I don't want to hog them for myself."

"Not a problem, bra. That's why we're going back to the dollar store so I can buy you some."

"Yay!"

Once she put her uniform away and closed the Big Squeeze, he whisked her through the mall until they found the dollar store, where they ended up buying _several_ bottles of bubble solution.

Now they rested on the benches by the Galleria's main fountain, which was sparsely populated. (It was a perk of being there during the slower hours of this summer day.)

She pleaded for him to give her a demonstration before she started blowing her own bubbles.

"Just watch," he said. He dipped the bubble wand into the solution, taking a deep breath and blowing as hard as he could.

A plethora of bubbles floated through the air. Caitlin beamed, her eyes lighting up with wonder. She had seen bubbles many times before, of course, but not in the way Jude allowed her to see them. She watched beautiful colors dance on the bubbles, refracting the light coming through the atrium's glass roof. They were psychedelic and bright hues of orange, pink, and green all at once in a swirling pattern.

"Jude, this is amazing."

"You think so?"

He saw her nod.

Her eyes were fixated above as the bubbles popped. Her gaze dropped in disappointment.

"Now it's your turn," he said.

"Okay, but mine may not be as pretty as yours."

"Don't say that. They're gonna be awesome."

She lifted her pink bubble wand with hesitation, but ended up blowing as many bubbles as Jude had. She jumped to her feet and bounced in glee. "Oh my God, Jude! I did it! I did it!"

He stood beside her. "You did. You totally did."

Her smile was wide, revealing both rows of her pearly white teeth. She gazed at him. The last thing she recalled saying was, "I did it because of _you_, Jude."

Then she kissed him, and it all made _sense_. She didn't want a self-absorbed, emotionally neglectful guy who only cared about how he felt, breaking hearts along the way. She wanted someone caring and loyal and open to helping others. She wanted Jude. It was sudden and impulsive and crazy of her to decide only minutes ago—when they had started blowing bubbles together in the first place—that she wanted to be her best friend's girlfriend, but here she was. Acting on it. Being spontaneous. Letting the light in.

But it was Jude, of course, that she was dealing with. The Jude that hardly showered, frequently got high, and lived on wildcard terms. But over the course of one year, she learned about the most beautiful aspects of him. How he cared for every little thing, as proven by his love for Fish. How innocent he was in comparison with the other guys (or at least in comparison with Jonesy). How his imagination ran rampant.

He looked beyond the physical, trivial things to see what really mattered. And that mattered to her.

Kissing Jude was an interesting sensation, but not in a negative way. He didn't shove his tongue into her mouth, unlike some guys she'd dated. He moved his lips against hers in a gentle way. She blushed as he took her face into his palms. This moment felt like forever, but Caitlin realized it had only been less than a minute.

The magic was over as quickly as it began. She longed for his lips to press against hers again.

His skin turned red as they backed away from one another. He looked like he wanted to say something to her, but couldn't.

Her eyes dropped to the ground. Maybe he didn't feel the same way about her, even if he was just as engaged in the kiss as she was. She sighed. Maybe she wasn't right for love, whether it was from someone she didn't need or not.

He took her by the hand. "Caitlin, I wanna un-break your heart."

Her qualms fluttered away. She pressed her lips against his, smiling the whole time. When she pulled away from him, she said, "You already did."


End file.
